The Dealers

Chapter 53 - Azrael

It didn't take an otherworldly being to figure out that leaving Lena alone with Noah was a bad idea. Still, I had to see what would happen and if not a mere test for Lena, it was a test for myself.

Primarily because I hadn't been myself, I had to figure out what Noah and his annoying brothers knew about the situation. There was no one else—not even my closest advisors—that I could trust with this. One whisper that I wasn't on top of my game and usurpers from all around would be at my doorstep. It was no secret that I had a millennia of enemies.

No, this was safer. I knew that one way or another Noah would make a run for it and take Lena with him, whether she wanted to go or not.

But did she want to go?

From a considerable distance—so vast that even Noah couldn't sense my presence—I watched and I waited. I expected Lena to willingly go with him and maybe even suggest it herself.

I always sensed a bit of intrigue radiating off of Lena like steam. She was intrigued by me and she was curious but she also hated me immensely. While she tolerated me because she was brave and fiercely loyal to her loved ones, she could never find herself caring.

Yet, it felt that she somehow did care—at least momentarily.

With Lena's softening towards me, I also felt myself slacken. That wasn't something that happened to me and I had no idea what to do about it. Spending time with Lena at the Bed and Breakfast was the eye-opener for me and I soon realized that something suspicious was afoot.

From the moment I healed Lena—something I knew was a bad idea the second I decided to do it—I felt different. I wasn't physically different but the change was happening inside of me and in a deep place I had long forgotten.

Still, I knew that given the moment over again, I would make the same choice and save her the way I did. It always irked me that I felt something for Lena—she was human after all—but, I did. More so, what little control I had over those feelings was gone.

Watching Noah and Lena drive off from the club was tough but I refused to let myself feel that emotion—whatever the fuck it was. I couldn't let myself feel that because it would most likely be dangerous for everyone.

I gave Noah ample time to get to his brothers before I set off after them. It would give me time to think and formulate my own plan. Always being one step ahead was my signature and the fact that I had no clue what to do next, almost scared me.

Fear—that was another new one for me. I never feared anything or anyone. I never needed too. While I was almost certain that my power and prowess remained intact, the baggage I seemed to be carrying around was weighing me down—another feeling that I wasn't used to.

As I pushed the sports car to its limit, I reminded myself that I didn't want to catch up with Noah and Lena just yet. No, they needed to reach Moorehouse and find out what the other Hawthorne brothers knew about the situation. I hated that family and I hated that estate but the fact remained that within the walls of Moorehouse sat my only chance and fixing what ailed me.

Speaking of ailment; if I wasn't myself, surely Lena was experience similar symptoms. She was mortal and she was fragile. If I was being affected by whatever was happening, it must be worse for her.

A sense of worry crept up my neck just then as I tightened my grip on the steering wheel to focus myself. Being careful not to completely rip the wheel from it's base, I attempted to steady my emotions. While I found that I always had a soft spot for Lena, I was never this out of sorts—or at least, I was better able to suppress that.

I had to make sure that Lena was alright but I had to be smart about it as well. I couldn't let anyone at Moorehouse know what troubled me. I couldn't let them know that they could possible be at an advantage.